House Republicans are following through on their pledge to try and bring an end to the EPA’s assault on the American business community.
Three Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives -- Marsha Blackburn (TN), Shelley Moore Capito (WV) and Ted Poe (TX) each introduced separate bills aimed at blunting the EPA’s authority.
The three measures hamstring the agency's authority in different ways: Blackburn's would "amend the Clean Air Act to provide that greenhouse gases are not subject to the Act," even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that they are. Capito's bill would delay EPA from regulating carbon dioxide and methane for two years; and Poe's would prohibit any agency funding "to be used to implement or enforce a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases."
"Time is of the essence," Capito said. "The Democrats failed to act in any way to stop the EPA from implementing new rules pertaining to greenhouse gas emissions on January 2, 2011.Without congressional action to say otherwise, the EPA will continue to dismantle energy and manufacturing industries through regulation."
Republicans aren't the only ones working to limit the agency's climate authority: Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has announced that he plans to reintroduce his bill that would impose a two-year delay on EPA's ability to limit greenhouse gases. The Association supports a permanent moratorium on EPA’s authority.